Common Ground
by Tangled up in Blu
Summary: Team BCD! In Purgatory, Castiel and Benny come to an understanding while Dean lays unconscious. Pre-Slash - Destiel One shot.


"You're bleeding," Castiel said in that blank way of his.

"Yeah," Benny tried to smile but it was more of a grimace. "Guess I didn't get out of the way fast enough." Benny tightened the hold on his stomach hoping to staunch the steady flow of blood leaving his body.

When the Grindylow had snagged Castiel around the leg, Dean hadn't thought twice about crashing into the water after him. Unfortunately, he hadn't remembered that angels can't drown either and only succeeded in angering the creature. Dean had been dropped from a height of thirty feet by one of the monster's tentacles and only the vampire's quick thinking had saved Dean further injury. Unfortunately, Benny had gotten a tentacle through the gut for his efforts.

"I don't believe my powers will be able to heal you," Castiel said grudgingly. He could see that the crater in the vampire was a good 4 inches in diameter and straight through the vampire's right side. It looked painful.

Benny snorted indelicately. "Like you would,"

"What do you require to heal," the angel asked resignedly.

Bent grunted as he tried to shift and looked up at Castiel with tired eyes. "I need to feed," replied the vampire, baring his teeth.

The trio had not been travelling through Purgatory for very long. The natural disposition of the vampire and the angel's almost paranoid protectiveness had not meshed well from the very start. Like all the Winchesters, Castiel had learned the hard way that working with demons never lead anywhere good. Only the force of Dean's personality and his absolute conviction that they needed each other had kept the three from each other's throats.

"You are not to feed on Dean," the angel warned dangerously, his grace flaring in his eyes.

"Don't worry your wings in a twist, angel. I haven't fed on a human in 200 years and I ain't about to start with him." Benny replied convincingly.

Castiel did not smile as he turned and bent to down to check Dean. The gash on Dean's forehead had healed and he had moved from unconsciousness to REM sleep. Castiel placed his hand gently on the side of Dean's head for a moment and then raised abruptly, striding toward the mouth of the cave in which they were hiding.

"Where you goin'?" Benny called quietly

Castiel stopped but didn't turn. Benny couldn't see the look of frustration on the angel's face but he heard it in the angel's voice.

"Not far," the angel warned. He thought he could trust the vampire not to hurt Dean – if anything in his own self-interest. However, for the vampire to heal, it needed food, which Castiel would have to find a way to provide. Dean would be upset with him if the vampire died. . . again. It would take time to wait for the vampire to reappear Time they could not afford.

"You can't leave. He saved your life," the vampire reminded weakly.

Castiel snarled as he turned back towards the vampire, "I am not . . . I am well aware that he again tried to sacrifice himself for me. Dean Winchester is known for doing many things to his own detriment, all in the name of saving someone else."

"You know he's in love you with you," Benny said as his eyes slid shut.

Castiel scowled and turned back towards the entrance, "I will not discuss this with you."

"I'm just sayin'," the vampired slurred out.

"It is none of your concern," Castiel said in a low, warning voice.

Benny's eyes shot open again. "It is my concern," he answered hotly. "Because I can't leave without him and if he won't leave without you and you ain't leavin . . ."

Castiel shifted uncomfortably. "Dean will return through the portal . . . assuming there IS a portal."

"You ain't foolin' me angel," Benny replied, eyes squinting and blood bubbling on his lips after the outburst. "I can tell you have no intention of going through that portal. If I have learned one thing about him," Benny's eyes slid towards Dean's sleeping form, "it's that he's loyal . . . to a fault."

Castiel sighed disheartened and slid down the wall of the cave so he was facing the vampire. "He is." Castiel said quietly, his eyes also traveling over the sleeping human. "It is one of the many things I admire about him. It is one of the reasons why he doesn't deserve to be here."

"Oh, and you do?" the vampire wheezed.

"Yes," the angel answered quietly.

There was a long pause where nothing could be heard but the drip of water further back in the cave and the ragged breath of the vampire. Castiel assumed that Benny had finally succumbed to unconsciousness and was debating on whether it was safe to leave the cave or not.

"I'll tell you what," the vampire said, startling Castiel. "I will do everything in my power to get him to the portal, alive and unharmed. You have my word on that, whatever that's worth. In return, you have to swear to do everything you can to get him to the portal alive and unharmed too. That includes staying with us because if you leave us now, he will never make it. And neither will I."

Castiel turned to stare at Benny and for the first time Benny stared back and Castiel could almost see a soul. It was tarnished and twisted and black, but it was there. Making a decision, Castiel nodded his head once. "Agreed."

Benny slumped down again and closed his eyes. "Good, good. I'm just goin to pass out now." He muttered.

Castiel stepped over to the vampire's side and knelt down. Dragging his wrist along the broken rocks harshly was enough to scrape his vessel's skin causing the several drops of blood to rise to the surface. Gently he smeared the blood across Benny's mouth and watched as the hole in side slowly close.

Benny took a deep breath and then another, opening his eyes. "Damn boy. What did you do? I told you I don't drink from humans."

"and I am not a human," Castiel replied reasonably.

Benny smiled. "That's very true. I have to say, it's some good stuff. The best I ever had in fact."

"It's also the last you'll ever get," Castiel replied with a smile that was small but heartfelt.


End file.
